Today, Russo advised me to search for his name on YouTube, and here’s what I found:

Per the blurb written by Oaklandishgirl, who posted the video: “John Russo, Oakland City Attorney, caught in the national police campaign to catch seat belt scofflaws, was ticketed for failing to wear his seat belt, as he was driving away with his two sons from Fenton’s Ice Cream Parlor in Oakland. Both the Oakland Tribune and the SF Chronicle ran feature stories, see ‘Oakland City Attorney Nabbed in Seat Belt Sting’ (Oak Tribune 5/24/07). Here Mr. Russo provides a public service announcement to remind the public to buckle up … it not only saves lives … it’s the LAW.”

Incidentally, the conversation in which Russo told me about this was conducted while he was on his cell phone … and in his car. But that’s not illegal; I trust he was using a hands-free apparatus.

SB 966, which would require large retail pharmacies to enact a system by July 1, 2008, to collect and dispose of unused prescription drugs dropped off by consumers, passed the state Senate today on a 21-13 vote, squeaking by and headed to an Assembly hearing in June or July.

“Few consumers have the time or the inclination to carry through with American Pharmacists Association’s current guidelines for the safe disposal of pharmaceuticals, which involves crushing or dissolving the medication, mixing with kitty litter, sealing in a plastic bag then setting out with the trash,” Simitian said in a news release today, noting drugs usually are either flushed down the toilet or thrown in the garbage where they threaten the environment and contaminate waterways.

A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey study of 139 streams across 30 states found that 80 percent had measurable concentrations of prescription and nonprescription drugs, steroids, and reproductive hormones. Exposure even to low levels of pharmaceuticals, has been shown to harm fish and other aquatic species and may threaten human health.

But leaving unused pills in the medicine cabinet indefinitely isn’t good either, what with the growing problem of teenage pharmaceutical abuse.

This isn’t Simitian’s first swipe at the issue. Two years ago, his SB 798 — another of his contest’s winners — created a program letting counties recover unused prescription drugs from skilled nursing facilities, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and wholesalers and re-distribute them for free to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them. So far, however, San Mateo County is the only California county to have implemented such a program.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced some new Golden State campaign staffers today, picking a pair of senior advisers with decidedly different views of the state’s most popular Republican.

“California will play an important role in the upcoming primary elections, and this team will be critical in making sure every voter knows about my message of change in Washington,” Romney said in a news release. “I look forward to working with them so we can bring conservative leadership back to our government.”

Stutzman, you may recall, is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s former deputy chief of staff for communications, and co-directed communications for the governor’s 2003 campaign; he’s now a principal at Navigators, a national lobbying and political PR firm. Earlier, he co-founded CommandFocus, a Sacramento-based political communications firm; earlier yet he was a GOP campaign communications and Internet consultant; and he was communications director for former state Attorney General Dan Lungren, now a Congressman from Gold River.

Schroeder has been the California Republican Party‘s treasurer, vice-chairman and chairman, as well as national vice chairman of the New Majority Council for the Republican National Committee. He was the state co-chair for President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign; Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign; and President George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign. Most recently, he was political director of State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner’s campaign last year. Also, he’s an outspoken critic of Schwarzenegger, so it should be fun watching him and Stutzman work together.

Lantos and Lee tout AIDS funding boost: Note the date and time, folks — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, had something nice to say about President Bush today, as he requested a broadening of the U.S. fight against global HIV/AIDS. Lantos and Lee in 2003 were among co-authors of legislation that led to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which the president now wants to renew and expand. Lantos called Bush’s call to double the budget “music to my ears, and I will do all I can to ensure harmonious support for it.” Lee called PEPFAR “one of the few foreign policy initiatives where the President has broad bipartisan support among the Congress.” But both called for removing the requirement that a third of the program’s funds be spent solely on abstinence-only-until-marriage education. “The Institute of Medicine and the Government Accountability Office have reported that this requirement has been a hindrance to the effectiveness of prevention efforts across the board. Mandating the preaching of abstinence may not be the best use of one-third of the funds in this fight,” Lantos noted. And Lee said added investment in our global AIDS programs must be “coupled with increases in funding for other core development and humanitarian programs, including for programs to address basic education, nutrition, the health worker shortages, water and food security and other diseases like malaria and TB.”

No fuzzy math for Lee: Lee is in Berkeley tonight speaking at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute’s 4th annual Critical Issues in Education conference, updating educators on K-12 legislation in Congress and in particular the debate over renewing — and perhaps, fully funding for the first time? — the “No Child Left Behind” law implemented five years ago. The conference, focusing on “Teaching Teachers Mathematics,” has gathered more than 200 prominent educators and mathematicians from across the nation to improve teachers’ training for certification and beyond.

McNerney’s next meet-and-greet: Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will hold his next “Congress at Your Corner” session with constituents from noon to 1 p.m. this Friday, June 1 at Vic’s All Star Kitchen, 201A Main St. in Pleasanton. Wanna know the latest about what’s happening in them marbled halls on ethics, the war, gas prices, anything at all? Bring yer questions, grab a cuppa joe with your voice in Congress — he’s all ears.

The best part about being a reporter is having the opportunity to explore new bridges before they open to the public.

This morning, I toured the new Benicia-Martinez bridge, scheduled to open in late August or early September, with Caltrans engineer Mo Pazooki and public information officer Keith Wayne. (See tomorrow’s Contra Costa Times for the full story and photos by Karl Mondon.)

We drove from one end of the bridge to the other, a feat possible only in the past few months since the contractors finished the concrete segments and installed the hinges in the deck that allow the bridge to move up to 3 feet in an earthquake.

We walked down the middle of the span, which won’t be possible as soon as the five-lane bridge opens to traffic.

And we roamed through the tunnel beneath the toll-taker booths, a place that will be strictly off-limits to the general public after opening day. The toll may only be $4 but multiply that amount by the thousands of vehicles that travel this bridge every day and you are talking about some serious money.

I’ll be working on a full-length retrospective about the construction of the Benicia-Martinez bridge to publish in late summer before it opens. If you worked on this bridge, I’d love to hear from you. Call me at 925-945-4773 or email me at lvorderbrueggen@cctimes.com.

Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, D-Oakland, on Friday will host the Assembly Select Committee on Youth Violent Prevention‘s third and final hearing in a series held across the state. Previous hearing were held in Salinas and Los Angeles; this one — from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the boardroom on the second floor of the Port of Oakland Building, at 530 Water St. in Jack London Square — will focus on “Preventing Youth Violence in Urban Communities: Strategies that Work.”

Joining Swanson will be committee chairwoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas; fellow committee member Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley; and representatives from community groups, youth and youth-service organizations, public health agencies, social services, the education community and concerned citizens. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and other Bay Area Assembly members have been invited as well.

((UPDATE @ 4:22 P.M. WEDNESDAY:Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will testify at this hearing on to how federal and state resources can be leveraged to address youth violence prevention, and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson will discuss youth violence prevention initiatives now under way here.))

Then, on Saturday, Swanson will host a town hall meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. in Oakland City Hall, presenting to the community the findings of a report commissioned by the Legislative Black Caucus — “The State of Black California Report” — showing disparities in economic opportunities, healthcare, housing, and civic participation among African-Americans and other minorities in California. The meeting will include discussion of current legislation aimed at resolving these inequalities, and community members are invited to give input about how the Legislative Black Caucus can further that goal.

Joining Swanson there will be Dellums, Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, and experts on health, economics, housing and education. Other Assembly Legislative Black Caucus members have been invited. Other State of Black California Town Halls have been held in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, San Diego and other sites; it’s sponsored in part by Kaiser Permanente.